PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

Why the liturgy?

1066 In the Symbol of the faith the Church confesses the mystery of the
Holy Trinity and of the plan of God's "good pleasure" for all creation:
the Father accomplishes the "mystery of his will" by giving his beloved
Son and his Holy Spirit for the salvation of the world and for the glory
of his name.[1]

Such is the mystery of Christ, revealed and fulfilled in
history according to the wisely ordered plan that St. Paul calls the "plan
of the mystery"[2] and the patristic tradition will call the "economy of the
Word incarnate" or the "economy of salvation."

1067 "The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament
were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and
giving perfect glory to God. He accomplished this work principally by the
Paschal mystery of his blessed Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and
glorious Ascension, whereby 'dying he destroyed our death, rising he
restored our life.' For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the
sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth 'the wondrous
sacrament of the whole Church."'[3]

For this reason, the Church celebrates
in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished
the work of our salvation.

1068 It is this mystery of Christ that the Church proclaims and celebrates
in her liturgy so that the faithful may live from it and bear witness to
it in the world:
For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the
Eucharist, that "the work of our redemption is accomplished," and it is
through the liturgy especially that the faithful are enabled to express in
their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real
nature of the true Church.[4]

What does the word liturgy mean?

1069 The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in
the name of/on behalf of the people."
In Christian tradition it means the
participation of the People of God in "the work of God."[5]
Through the
liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our
redemption in, with, and through his Church.

1070 In the New Testament the word "liturgy" refers not only to the
celebration of divine worship but also to the proclamation of the Gospel
and to active charity.[6] In all of these situations it is a question of the
service of God and neighbor.
In a liturgical celebration the Church is
servant in the image of her Lord, the one "leitourgos";[7] she shares in
Christ's priesthood (worship), which is both prophetic (proclamation) and
kingly (service of charity):
The liturgy then is rightly seen as an exercise of the priestly office of
Jesus Christ.
It involves the presentation of man's sanctification under
the guise of signs perceptible by the senses and its accomplishment in
ways appropriate to each of these signs.
In it full public worship is
performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and
his members.
From this it follows that every liturgical celebration,
because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body which is the
Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others.
No other action of the
Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.[8]

Liturgy as source of life

1071 As the work of Christ liturgy is also an action of his Church. It
makes the Church present and manifests her as the visible sign of the
communion in Christ between God and men. It engages the faithful in the
new life of the community and involves the "conscious, active, and
fruitful participation" of everyone.[9]

1072 "The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the
Church":[10] it must be preceded by evangelization, faith, and conversion.
It can then produce its fruits in the lives of the faithful: new life in
the Spirit, involvement in the mission of the Church, and service to her
unity.

Prayer and liturgy

1073 The liturgy is also a participation in Christ's own prayer addressed
to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy, all Christian prayer
finds its source and goal. Through the liturgy the inner man is rooted and
grounded in "the great love with which [the Father] loved us" in his
beloved Son.[11] It is the same "marvelous work of God" that is lived and
internalized by all prayer, "at all times in the Spirit."[12]

Catechesis and liturgy

1074 "The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is
directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows."[13]
It is
therefore the privileged place for catechizing the People of God.
"Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of liturgical and
sacramental activity, for it is in the sacraments, especially in the
Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of
men."[14]

1075 Liturgical catechesis aims to initiate people into the mystery of
Christ ( It is "mystagogy." ) by proceeding from the visible to the
invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the "sacraments" to
the "mysteries."
Such catechesis is to be presented by local and regional
catechisms.
This Catechism, which aims to serve the whole Church in all
the diversity of her rites and cultures,[15] will present what is
fundamental and common to the whole Church in the liturgy as mystery and
as celebration (Section One), and then the seven sacraments and the
sacramentals (Section Two).